##VIDEO ID:p8udTaOdmGo## e e for I that sense yeah that's 
okay so we'll go ahead and okay we just want to know okay scope will work good afternoon the September 19 2024 
meeting of the Escambia children's trust   board of directors is being called to order 
at 5:31 p.m. this is the reschedule of the   setember 11th meeting which was cancelled due to 
implement weather from the hurricane please turn   off cell phones and place them or place them 
on silent if anyone wishes to present during   public comment please complete the public 
comment form located on the table to the   left of the podium and turn it into Miss Alma 
Miss Alma would you please proceed with roll   call Miss Woods present Mr Williams here Mr 
pedon here Dr norup Mr Leonard here miss Kane   here commissioner may miss white Judge Williams 
here thank you thank you Mr Williams would you   please lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance 
yes everyone please stand and join me the pledge to the flag of the United States 
of America and TOS Nation God and justice thank you Mr Williams if anyone if everyone 
has had time to review the agenda do I have   a motion to approve say move I have 
a second second any discussion all in   favor I I I any oppos if not approval 
of the agenda now on to the approval   of the minutes may I get a sec oh the 
staff recommends the board approve the   minutes from the August 13 2024 regular 
board meeting as presented may I have a motion any discussion all in favor I I 
any opposed motion passes we are moving   on to the treasur report Mr Pon you have the 
floor thank you Madame chair you'll see the   uh financial highlights in your packet um just 
going to like to thank T Tammy Abrams for her   work on this as as always I think she does a 
phenomenal job for us um there were no unusual   um expenditures um or uh that or transactions 
that were conducted during the month um I think   we know the outcome of what happened recently 
at the County Commission meeting about the CRA   of paying that debt so I think we're we're in 
in line to uh pay off pay that debt I don't   think the the uh the exemption was given either 
that that's correct right we had of going back right no they did not Grant the exemption so so 
we owe them and they've remitted an invoice that   we have to pay within 45 days okay so we we're 
going to we're going to take care of that um and   so that that's and I believe and now with the 
city we're we're on the that that's discussions   with the city with their CRA correct yes yes 
we're going to be having some discussions I   think that um mayor raes has done a great job of 
wanting to work in Partnership and he's been very   interested in our ITB um specifically because 
Global Learning Academy and of course um OJ   Sims are within the city um so he's been wanting 
to work collaboratively all along okay all right   well thank you um is there any questions about the 
uh financial report if not uh we'll submit it for   uh future audit thank you thank you Mr pting do 
we have any public comment for today's meeting if not now we have a special presentation 
for the board if one of the representatives   from children's from Pensacola children's course 
would like to come up and introduce themselves okay okay hello everyone my name is Alex Gartner 
I'm the artistic and executive director of the   Pensacola Children's Chorus and I'm very grateful 
for the opportunity to be here today to speak on   behalf of our program sing to succeed a funded 
program of the out of school time initiative   of the escamia children's trust um of course um I 
think sorry I don't know what's happening with the   screen oh cool cool um I want you to imagine for 
a second that we're here on Wednesday September   11th where the the weather is sunny um and not 
raining and I had about 25 kids standing right   here and they were going to sing this song for 
you I'm only going to give you 10 seconds of it [Music]   it it builds into a very big rousing chorus but 
the lyrics are really important there um because   they encapsulate very much what is important to 
us with sing to succeed um that that Circle that   we're trying to dve a little bit wider allows us 
to take a look at those people who are outside   of our Circle and invite them in um and that is 
really what um sing to the core of Sing To Succeed   is it is unique among many of the children's trust 
funded programs for out of school time and the   fact that it is not a standalone just for ECT um 
children it's it's part of a larger program that's   been going on for over three decades where singers 
um who qualify for the Escambia children's crust   are part and integrated into a larger program with 
250 other kids from across Escambia and Santa Rosa   counties um and of course the ones who are here um 
for the record are uh live in Escambia County of   course um but the the the beauty of what the sing 
to succeed does is it exposes kids of all walks of   life to um people who are outside of their lived 
experience and that allows opportunity to see   themselves a little bit differently that expands 
their their view of themselves and what their   future can be and that's really important and a 
central tenant of what sing to succeed is now I'm   not going to lie I am very aware of some comments 
that have made been made not in with these people   but perhaps in this room about uh the question of 
why programs like the Pensacola Children's Chorus   and other Arts programs are a part of the Escambia 
children's trust um and to to tackle that a little   bit I want to look a little bit at what um our 
mission is um and as adults we are after after all   all adults in the room um we filter our experience 
through our the the eyes that we see now of course   and and as adults including myself um I look at 
the Arts in one way as a means of entertainment   and that is a very big part of what the Pensacola 
Children's Chorus and arts programs are we engage   our community Through inspirational musical 
experiences if you have been around Pensacola   for a while which all of you have um we perform 
at the Sanger we've been performing for decades   um and performance is a really important part of 
what we do but that is not the core of what we do   performance is just is the vehicle that we use um 
to get to the core of what we actually do which   is to Foster the personal and social growth of 
our singers um we are a data driven organization   and that is why we are here today and why we are 
grateful to be funded by the esamia children's   trust because we have the data that proves that 
the kids who go through our program regardless of   their Walk of Life um gain essential life skills 
that help them grow into successful adults the   nucleus of what we do at the Children's Chorus is 
this personal and social growth of our singers um   through this and through our uh program of Sing To 
Succeed we emphasize life skills and specifically   soft skills which are um responsibility 
accountability Independence confidence empathy   and teamwork um these are things that can only 
be developed in very specific settings um it's   really hard to do that in an academic classroom 
where you're only focused on your one grade and   your one performance on that standardized test and 
the collaborative environment that the Performing   Arts provide we're able to Nuance this a little 
bit more and what's great is that it's inherently   built in and so we have a lot of success in that 
um we do this primarily through Arts education   and performance which are the two tenets of 
our mission we flank this through a few other   things that our kids are exposed to leadership 
opportunities intentional Community Development um   internship opportunities and a a family atmosphere 
that we intentionally cultivate with student   leaders and this all helps us Mo uh lean toward a 
a shared that we have at the Children's course of   a generation that is um shaped and changed by 
really powerful young people who are going to   step into the leadership roles when we are all not 
here anymore um so that of course is what sing to   succeed is so as an integrated program um the the 
question does become like what what's happening   with just the children's trust kids and I get that 
and luckily we uh we do segment our our evaluative   processes to understand what the impact is 
happening what impact is happening on those kids   and I'm grateful to say that um it's working um 
85% of our singers feel a sense of belonging 90%   feel that they could positively contribute to our 
community 95% develop better friendships 85% feel   better about themselves 95% feel good about how 
they perform 95% feel more confident in themselves   now these are not markers on a standardized test 
but the Arts aren't um standardized so we're we we   don't fit into that mold however the things that 
we teach are skills that transcend the classroom   they they carry us through all stages of Our 
Lives they don't uh they're not exclusive to one   profession they're not exclusive to one um path 
to Career they are exclusive only to our ability   to harness them to Garner success for ourselves in 
the rest of our lives um we are very grateful to   be in year two of our our esamia children's trust 
uh project um you can see in Gold these are this   is our ratio of of singers um that are funded by 
the trust and gold I said with the rest in um blue   um so we're at about uh we're we're very slowly 
approaching our Target we were a little under last   year but we're uh we're already on the right track 
to meet our year 2 Target um and we'll probably do   that by January so I just want to share a few 
photos in absence of our singers they would be   really great over here smiling at you um this 
is a wonderful shot from our camp we have again   these are all integrated um but uh we do have our 
the singer right directly in front um he actually   joined our summer program for the the first time 
and has enrolled in our regular program we've got   two singers yeah I know uh karaoke having a great 
time Noah on the right and Jose on the left um   both never been a part of our program before and 
have developed incredible friendships um um gyrus   in the middle um if you had the opportunity to 
come see their R latest performance at Showtime um   he was running around the Sanger theater screaming 
manomina um at at full volume um for an entire   week and it was a joy for everyone um na'vi in 
the middle is a really special case for us um   her family is going through some very intense um 
medical scares and they weren't going to be able   to participate this year because Transportation 
was an issue for them but we were able to find a   way um and na'vi has been in our quarterly reports 
one of our our success stories that we um her   family does share a lot with us about the impact 
that our program has made on her family and that's   all of them together um what I love about this was 
um at the end of our spring concert last year what   I love about this photo um is that um you C you 
can't tell which kid is what um and that in in in   many respects at least for me as an educator of 
um almost two decades now um in both inner city   schools um and and in after school activities 
um in large cities and cities like ours um the   opportunity for a kid to not feel othered is very 
important to me me where that they feel that they   are part of something not by the label that they 
fit um but that the the contributions that they   make to their Community that's really important to 
us and that's what is the core of what we do um at   s d and with the Pensacola Children's Chorus so um 
in conclusion I do hope that um I can bring those   singers back here um so they can actually sing 
for you I I know I'm am a wonderful um filling   for them but they're much better Representatives 
than I about the impact of what they can do and   and the impact that our program is having so we're 
very grateful to all of you for supporting us and   thank you for all your work thank you I did have a 
question for you yes I know you mentioned the the   slide what what are your numbers what what was the 
target the target for year two I believe is like   65 uh actually I'm I'm I'm making that up actually 
I think it's actually 85 and now I'm drawing I'm   turning the song back on again it is in your 
program report I believe I believe 85 is our   second year and at the start of this year we're 
at half of that and so we have another enrollment   period that ends in January and so we're hoping to 
reach that this year and how many um performances   do you do um the children's trust singers 
participate within our main four line we we   have three main performances and and we actually 
we have four main performances and we have kids   participating in all four of them um but the 
children's course puts on 40 different concerts   a year and so it varies based on which choir that 
they're a part of how many they'll do and would   you mind sending um an email so maybe we can come 
and watch one of those per absolutely yes we've   invited in the past but there we the process to 
doing that was a little murky but we would love   to have you all there thank you thank you have 
do you have a um grasp on why I'm glad that the   numbers are as as good as they are those are good 
numbers my question is do you have a grasp on how   um how to get them up to the I think say the 85 
goal our largest challenge is transportation um   in our grant program or in our grant proposal we 
did not include a vehicle okay um recognizing that   a vehicle is a fixed amount of kids that we could 
get we work with targeted schools in our proximity   and we work on uh personalized Transportation 
plans among the resources that we have but   without a centralized and I know many out of 
school time programs are are struggling with   Transportation um especially those who don't have 
access to a direct vehicle um but we we're always   looking for opportunities to get more kids in um 
that that's the biggest challenge that we have is transportation when that was my question when I 
looked at one of your objectives was I was just   going to ask you how did you how do you solve 
that problem you said 100% of participants   receive personalized Transportation yeah we how 
do you do that we work with we have a program   manager that works with the families directly 
as part of our registration process they have   list of Transportation options available to 
them they get to self- select whether that   they the parent can personally transport 
they can transport them just one way or   the other way and then we work with our we 
have um we incentivize with gas GI cards   we have carpool opportunities um so we we 
find a way for everybody to be there thank you any other questions thank you so 
much thank you T and thank you everyone moving on to the business portion of the meeting 
Miss Canon I understand you have a few things to present yes a few things so I'm sorry it's 
a thick packet um this week but we have our   finalized out of school time programs report 
so if you remember we were looking at this when   contracts were renewed at um March 1st which did 
not give us our end of school year metrics and so   as you I know that it is a long a long report I 
will give all the praise to our team for putting   this together um but this should be something 
that we publish going forward as our formal   results so um I know it's a lot to read and and 
Alex was it was 105 kids over three years that   they were serving so they're well on their way 
and probably serving more um than what they had   committed to but that sort of information's 
in here um I I don't know if you've had a   chance to go through all of it the beginning 
really gives you some of our census tracks um   what we're looking at there overall in our OST 
programs and then um and where those programs   lie I feel like this is a really great sheet 
it's um let's see one two three it's like the   third page it looks like this um this is a really 
great one it shows you where our programs lie and   where our funds are being concentrated um and 
and that's also a guide for us moving forward   as well as to what we need to be doing in our 
community from a larger perspective um and then   we have it broken down uh by each organiz ation 
and um what they were contracted for what their   actuals were and then their individualized 
outcomes uh for their program as proposed   all of these I would say have been um working very 
hard they're all on positive trajectories for Year too so if there are any questions 
about that we can go through them for guess I'm giving any questions from 
anyone about the presentation from Lindsay if not if not lindsy thank you and now 
we have a few recommendations from the program   committee is that where we are right hold on oh 
I'm sorry I'm sorry linday I'm on the wrong one   recommendation from the program committee 
for the scope of work change for youth if behind right I'm sorry madam chair um can you go   to the presentation of year end 
mental health programs on the right where are we on page three right the 
presentation for the year in okay yes year   end mental health program report are you going 
to present on that one now that's this one yes do   you have the budgets for these are they in here 
yes they are okay that's what I was looking for   um what you have in the larger packet um that 
elma's put together thank you Elma she always   makes it nice for us um this is similar to what 
you all saw at the end of last year when we were   looking at OST and recommendations for Renewal or 
non-renewal at that time this report we wanted to   keep it as uniform as possible for you um so that 
it it was similar in nature we did give a little   bit more detail and of course some fun pictures 
for you to look at um but wanted to answer some of   those questions that continue to come up so some 
of the things that you will see in this particular   report is what their project total was financially 
um what they actually have drawn down as of um   June 30th so at the time when we were looking at 
this we want to remind you that we didn't have all   of the financials at that time but wanted to to 
look at what that looked like um and to make sure   that they were on an upward trajectory related to 
um attendance and then we also balanced that with   what their actual cost per participant was so I 
know that we don't build that way um you know like   cost per participant but it does allow us to take 
that overall budget and how many kids are serving   and come up with that number um most of them are 
on track for that um one of the things that we did   look at as well is the number served through July 
31st so we could actually look to see are they   actually increasing month over month in attendance 
and kids that are recruited um but the financial   ends only going to be through June 30th um with 
those numbers so that's what you're looking at in   here we do recommend moving forward for year two 
renewals um with all of our our five contracts so I have a question for um The Pride program 
they served 69 out of 100 and was their budget   last year the 258 or was it the 218 it was their 
first year so it was 218 218 so they used all of   the money but they served 70% of the kids the 
70% so this is no they as of June 30th they've   only used 9 5,000 P the 218 sorry it's on page 14 
okay at the bottom there's a chart down there so   they're looking at 100 participants um per year 
for three years so increasing the the volume of   that that football team this is our program if you 
all remember that's integrated with the Pensacola   High School um football team and working with 
them so their their project total for the three   years was 762 th000 their first year budget was 
218 um 902 so at this point the total used was   about 44% as of 630 um which was 95,000 so they 
still have 123 left for July August September   that they could potentially draw down so when we 
did the cost comparison here they looked at they   were going to serve 100 kids at this point 
as of June 30th they had served 69 when you   compare that to what they've actually built down 
um for the years at that point their actual amount   per participant was 1387 and some change and 
their projected amount was 21 so they actually   are coming in under budget for participant 
the actual so the is the 1, okay 387 and then so when you look at the next page so Tori if 
you switch to page 16 just to show you guys when   I was talking about the data running through July 
because we wanted to measure are we seeing upward   trajectory and we had that information what 
you'll see at this point um compared to June   they had 69 youth by the end of July there were 
73 so they are on that upward trajectory um in   meeting their goals and of course they have that 
until September 30th to hit that and it was were   of these one of the organizations that had 
that extra percentage in here and have we   asked them about that where that money was 
being used the extra percentage I'm sorry like the I have to find another budget but it was 
like a percentage I had asked you about that   they can ask for are you talking about indirect 
yes yes they do have indirect in their budget   have we asked them about that funding we have 
not we're meeting next week and we to have a   discussion about budget yes thank you you mhm now 
we've met for the budget going forward um which   you have in here but looking at them as an overall 
organization one of the things we've learned with   some of our smaller organizations is and lamp fls 
is a great example they were a parent paid type   of program and it was a struggle for families 
and so um with our funding not only through   Pride but through the out of school time they 
become almost like a $400,000 organization and   that's a huge shift from a Grassroots mentality 
around budgeting and organizational structure   and so we'll be meeting with them to kind of 
talk about that and what that looks like in   our relationship and how we can support and 
I mean not just them but like the other yes   yes I was just well and and part of and so 
just to clarify for the rest of the board   we had a conversation about indirect which is 
usually a percentage of the budget it's 10 to   15% is 15 is our cap on what we will redirect 
that's typically used for the things that are   nonprogram related but are essential so your HR 
your Mis you know our it guys um and other sort   of administrative services that you have um one 
of the things we have not required is a breakdown   of the percentage of what that looks like within 
an organization some of our larger ones will have   that they'll know the exact percentage of that 
that's going to these particular departments so   there's another place where we need to some 
of them will have that right away and others   are going to need to think that through so we do 
need to work on that with our smaller nonprofits so we moving forward with the recommendation 
I would recommend that we move forward with   um supporting and and renewing these five 
contracts for next year for a second year   so the program committee recommends 
approval of the resolution 202 24-10   allowing the year to renewal of all five 
mental health programs as shown below   the Boys and Girls Club of Emeral Coast 
at$ 1,2 859 New World Believers at 500 $570,500 and lamplighters pride at 
$258 635 five I have a motion to approve move second any other further discussion 
all in favor I any opposed abstain substain next   we have the Early Learning Coalition Readiness 
match program year two renewal yes uh we just   need a formal approval on that we've discussed 
that in our program committee as well that's   our match funding that is for School Readiness 
um match which allows for full day for working   parents to support their child care needs the 
program committee recommends approval of the   resolution 20241 for year to renewal of the ELC 
School Readiness match program as presented may   I have a motion so move second any discussion 
all in favor I any oppose it passes and we're   moving on to the Children's Home Society Soul 
Source Pond Forest High School program year   three renewal this is a renewal for match to 
the University of Central Florida program that   supports wellness and PBIS activities is part of 
the Community Partnership school at Pine Force   this will be the third year of um of funding 
for this as originally um proposed and so uh   we recommend moving forward they're they're 
hitting all their numbers very successfully and   seeing um really great results from that the 
program committee recommends approval of the   resolution 202 24-12 for year three renewal of 
the Children's Home Society Soul Source Pond   Force high school program as presented may 
I have a motion so move any discussion all   in favor I I and final item for consideration 
the scope of work change for youth Left Behind   Miss kenon would you like to give feed ground back 
background information on this change yes um this   is a this is a unique one that's hit our desk 
um we have uh Mr Hills here who's done a really   phenomenal job in getting in some of our most 
vulnerable communities with young men um he's   so much so that he's gotten notoriety from the 
judicial system um that are ordering kids into   his program um they want them to be a part of it 
they feel that it is something very successful   the sheriff is also um reported in a variety of 
ways as well as DJJ um the problem with that is   it comes outside of the 3250 um 505 And1 zip 
codes which the mental health contract RFP was   originally designed for um he does not want to say 
no to judges we do not want to say no to that when   we have a vulnerable kid that's right on the verge 
of that and needs that support he's also found   that he has a younger population that's coming um 
regularly and they're in very vulnerable places   too that he would like to serve um so we would 
like to recommend a scope of work change where   we um expand that age group to nine which is 
one of the youngest that he has in there um   but also remove some of those barriers for 
our children that are being referred by the   court system or DJJ to participate in his program 
and I would say that would be a really positive change second any further discussion   all in favor all and then I believe 
he wanted to have a public comment so you didn't have to sell us on this one 
how everybody doing this evening um my name   is Hassan Hills and I'm the founding director of 
Youth Left Behind U nonprofit organization here   in esam county and we've been in business for 
two years um during these past two years we are   trying to identify and help young men reach 
New Horizons in life and by doing so we try   to connect with them and meet them right where 
they're at and provide the resources and when   we can provide the resources we do referrals for 
people that offer services outside of our scope   one of the barriers that we came up with is that 
today I might pick up a kid from gfre Street him   and his brother next week I might pick him up 
from Lincoln Park the week after that he might   be at Marino court at his auntie house and the 
reason being is is because the family is unstable   dealing with housing um I don't think that a 
child should suffer from living in a different   zip code because of the conditions of his family 
uh we have families that come in our program that   become homeless and they live in a hotel room 
so that makes us have to either pick them up   first or drop them off last because we want the 
confidentiality of what they're going through to   be between the organization and the staff and not 
with the other kids um I've been working with DJJ   judge Harris in particular and all the probation 
officers I've had 15 referrals in this past year   from DJJ and I have a comprehensive style 
curriculum that I created that I'm capturing   the effectiveness of it through people that has 
a live life experience of getting in trouble and   seeing how it can help them and we have a 100% 
success rate all 15 kids that was referred to me   from DJJ this past year has not reoffended they 
completed their community service hours they   came to the program they went to the Red Cross and 
throughout the community and did community service   hours and out of every kid that I served this year 
every last one of them maintain a 2.0 grade point [Applause] average I believe that youth Left 
Behind is a grassroot organization and we   have the support of the community community that 
believes in us and we're not just interested in   being a nonprofit we're committed we um we serve 
on days that's not funded by ECT we partnership   with the sheriff department and we take children 
and enroll them in the Blazer Academy four to   five of our kids every time they have the Blazer 
Academy they're enrolled in there and then they   get to come back to the group and nominate another 
kid to go on to Blazer Academy for the next time   where we're at now we're in Montclair and we all 
know that we're dealing with gun violence and all   that inside those neighborhoods I believe well I 
know I am the only program of this kind in that   neighborhood and is well needed um the measures 
of security I've worked with the property manager   there we've put a whole brand new camera system 
up that's not funded through ECT they put a brand   new gate up with a code our partnership with 
the sheriff department and I contacted them and   they're going to activate those cameras through 
the real life crime Center why because just a   mile up the road we got people getting shot and 
I have people children in this building and I   want to ensure them that their child is safe our 
security staff we have a wand every kid that come   to our program they get W down before they come in 
I want to make sure people are safe um we have a   security staff for the ones that get dropped off 
they must get picked back up in the same car they   got dropped off in if you're Auntie drop you off 
in the blue maximum your auntie got to come back   and pick you up you can't go to your cousin house 
your dad can't come get you unless somebody call   and make contact with one of the staff members 
that you'll somebody else be coming to get you   those are the measures that we're putting in 
place to ensure the well-being and safety of   our children um we plan on working with the school 
district getting into the schools figuring out how   we can figure out how we can work with kids 
that's receiving referrals and keep them in   school if they come through our program and do the 
right thing put that inside of a band and see how   they do with the program instead of sending them 
to ISS instead of sending them into an alternative   school so I'm at the alternative school now I'm 
at a chief Academy I went to their open house   yesterday we had our resource table there with 
the programs that we have and we had about nine   children signed up for our program from Achieve 
Academy so I believe that we're taking the proper   steps to hit the communities and hit the children 
that need us the most all kids need us but some   of them need us more than others and sad to 
say the children that I serve require just a   little bit more of me um I heard you all talking 
about how much it cost to serve a child it cost   us roughly $2,000 to serve a child ECT pays for 
a little bit over 1,300 if I'm not mistaken but   to serve the children that I serve and get the 
outcomes that I get it costs a little bit over   $2,000 for us to do it all my staff are on um 
uh in kind time they work half of the time and   they get paid for the other half because they're 
not interested they committed I myself I donate   my time as well none of us get paid overtime 
because the children that we serve our future   and we have to put them on the path to success 
and show them that more excellent way through   this comprehensive mentorship last but not least 
barrier our biggest barrier is transportation   before we got this grant we didn't have 
transportation we had staff members car   pooling children to our program the esam county 
sheriff department said they wanted to build   the bridge and not a barrier and bought us a 
van a seven passenger van we pick up 21 to 27   kids every Tuesday to get to our program with a 
seven passenger van so we have to make three and   four trips to get these kids to our program not 
only that school don't get out till sometime 4 5   and six o'clock our program starts at 6 our van 
start pck picking up at Pensacola high school at   3:10 we start picking them up from school to get 
that group there first so that way we can have   everybody there by 6:30 so one of the things that 
we're working on we're um reaching out to outside   funding we've applied for several grants here in 
the past year and we got some of them but we need   to figure out a way that we can come up with some 
funding cuz we need a 15 passenger van in order to   be able to provide our services to the children 
that need it the most and we're working on that   so I want to thank you all for allowing us to 
work in the community with the children and I   want to thank the staff at the trust who always 
there to listen to what I got to say or what   I need help with I call them every time I'm not 
perfect this is new to me but I'm connecting with   the children and I'm trying to meet the need 
of the children in order to to do that we as   the village have to put our heads together and 
represent them and bring forth what we need to   bring forth on a holistic approach and I thank you 
all for everything thank you I I have a question   and sir I don't know if you and Judge Williams 
might can answer this but Su that come through   your program and completed uh their record is it 
expunged um at a certain age or do they do they   get a start over if they complete it would um it 
if it's ordered as a term it depends on how it's   ordered if it's ordered as a term of probation it 
would be them successfully completing probation   that would not necessarily go off their record if 
there are a number of diversionary programs that   the state attorney's office has that are at their 
discretion if it were ordered for that purpose it   could result in a dismissal to where it would not 
be on the record so it depends on how it how it's   what stage it's ordered by whom and and I say 
that because I love the success of your program   I think kids need a new start if they go through 
and do all they're supposed to do I'd love to see   them as an adult have an opportunity to go 
to college going the military or whatever A   lot of them come through through the team court 
and that's a sanction to where if they complete   everything and don't reoffend then it it won't be 
on their record or the charges won't come against   so one of the barriers was how would they complete 
community service and how would they write their   essay and they have to donate 12 canned goods 
so I bring that comprehensive style you get   arrested and you go before one of these judges 
court order them to my program and I'm going   to ensure that they do what they need to do and 
provide the services for them and then once they   complete our program we want to refer them out 
to other ECT funded programs to do a wraparound   service to where we all can have a connection 
with these kids for a whole year and not just   8 weeks or 12 weeks or six weeks eight weeks of 
working with the children I work with is setting   them up for failure they need continuing care 
year round based upon the lack of resources and   the lack of guidance that they had from a child 
so that that's the approach that I take thank you thank you so now we Madam 
chair on on that um clearly the   uh board's in support um as Ami but 
due to the obvious nature that it um   court ordered in many instances I need to 
reflect that I'm abstaining from that vote okay now under operations we have 
ratification of resolution 20243   allowing for the executive director to enter 
into a contract with Children's Home Society   for a soul Source Grant placing Navigators 
into schools this item was presented voted   on and approved at the May 14 2024 board 
meeting May I have a motion to approve we did that before he came did we right we did 
I couldn't hear the question yeah we we voted   on him before we did vote on this we did not have 
the resolution at that time we do have a contract   but we need a resolution so we're ratifying that 
today okay so we need a motion we need I have a motion any discussion   all in favor I any opposed none so that is 
passed linday do I have an executive director's   report uh Mr Williams did second oh second I Mr 
leard Mr Leonard made the motion of Mr second speak okay presenting I do it every time Michael I've got 
it up it might be that looks like that there we   go there we go all right so this was supposed 
to be September 11th so uh we'll update that   um just want to give you guys an update on the 
board applications so that's been reposted um   twice now I believe it's going to close out again 
on Friday um they're doing shorter periods of time   it's not like it's been open for a month and 
we're reposting it's like a week and a half I   think something like that at the time maybe two 
weeks Al together um we do have applicants um uh   for the positions we do not have three per each 
position um just so you know so um we're hoping   I've had we've had people that are interested um 
say they're going to apply I don't know if they   have or not but Elma is keeping up um with Jose 
at the county to let us know so we may see that   extended um another period of time but it is on 
um I believe the agenda for October 4th I think   at the county to vote on um those particular names 
that are coming through so hopefully we'll we'll   meet the metric on that one um updates related to 
our committees that we've had uh We've of course   had Finance um and executive committee we held 
program committee on 8/19 and we are going to be   holding a October 4th um committee meeting uh for 
a program committee specifically to talk about   future funding um Tammy's actually worked on this 
today and did a really great job of looking at   a five-year scope um working through the Tiff 
type of dollars looking at what we have if we   want to renew out of school time if we want to 
renew doing more um mental health contracts what   we would have that could be put into new funding 
um and we've got some ideas around the different   types of funding um that we could offer uh with 
those type of um with with the type of money that   we're going to have it's not going to be Millions 
like it has in the past um just because of the   Rolling nature of it um we'll probably recapture 
some dollars here and there if people don't spill   organizations don't spin down um but but we'll 
keep you posted on that something we'll bring   to that program committee so they can look at it 
too and get a good idea um of what we're looking   at related to the finances as well um ITB is due 
tomorrow um very excited for healthy schools so um   we'll have next week to really look at it we've 
had some system issues this week which has been   a real challenge they updated samis this week 
which threw off all of our formulas so um Rick's   been working diligently uh to try to get some of 
those resolved uh and and we're we're letting the   the applicants know we'll we'll we'll work with 
them if our system's not working um we make sure   that they're able to submit timely um the other 
thing that um I want to bring to your attention   is I'm vetting multiple Soul Source applications 
and I'm talking multiple um I'm going to bring   those also to the program committee to show you 
what I'm getting um a lot of they're not Soul   Source applications a lot of them are actually 
really great after school programming um or out   of school time type programming um a lot of them 
bring a different flare to what an out of school   time would be but they're not type of Soul Source 
um we do have some coming that potentially will   be um but we we need to look at this and probably 
tighten up some of the language on our application   and make sure that our community knows because 
um there are funding sources one was a counselor   just give you an example one was a counselor that 
wanted to provide child parent Psychotherapy and   she wanted us to help pay for that specifically 
for foster kids so I called Northwest Florida   Health Network and they said uh we pay 
Medicaid pays for that and we do a wraparound   amount for that so I connected them in a matter 
of moments and this woman hopefully is out there   working with these kids right now because her 
skill set is very needed but I think that there's   this element of not understanding what systems are 
already serving um and so we're going to need to   wrap our hands around that so I just want to let 
you know that um if people are interested in the   community that say I think I want to put in a soul 
Source have them call me first or Deborah we can   at least talk that through with them before they 
spend time writing a whole proposal um where there   might already be funding available to them outside 
of us um so we're working through that we've um   create we completed all of our first time um as 
you saw with our uh mental health recommendations   we were able to do those collaborative meetings 
with our providers so talking through outcomes   showing them these reports this is what we're 
looking at what does your budget look like for   next year how are you going to spend it and 
then what your outcomes look like I think   that was really successful in helping us as a team 
understand how we need to work together to support   our providers but also letting them understand 
how we're viewing it as well um and what our   expectations are of each other so really want 
to continue that process going forward with any   contracts that we negotiate it's just important 
that we all have a mutual understanding um we   have on here of course the OST yearend drafts 
completed our mental health programming is is   completed and you guys have already voted on that 
so that's wonderful um policy evaluation we are   going to add um some language hopefully and and 
vet this through our policy Committee in the next   month related to our scope of work and budget 
changes what we had was the ability to do that   but no process embedded in that policy so um I've 
worked with meith to kind of put that together but   to give a if if something happens to me or anyone 
else on our team you're going to have a process so   you understand how those things need to happen um 
from from if you want to just do a budget versus   um you know scope of work because a change in 
budget could really affect your scope of work   um and a change in scope of work can really affect 
your budget so we want to make sure that we're all   on the same page with those um so we're going 
to be bringing that to policy committee and and   probably to y'all for the next um board meeting um 
we are in the process of organizing a focus group   related to the community violence more of like a 
listening session with some prompting questions   to try to understand what's happening we do have a 
commitment from the sheriff's office as well as um   p col um to be involved with that process we have 
a couple of our providers including um Hassan that   said he'll be there and Rodney Jones that are also 
working with kids that are involved in in some of   these criminal activities um and and what that 
looks like we we are not uh the people that are   experts on this so we've also asked some people 
that are in our community working on both ends of   that from a nonprofit or a community perspective 
uh Mr Bennett I think you sent me his number uh   was very excited he's the first one that came and 
said we got to do something about the community   violence and spoke at our board meeting he's 
very excited to be a part of it he also is one   of those that um um that is connected with the 
Leah Gibson Foundation who's someone we've been   talking with for a while they're really working 
with those families and I had no idea on the   other end that have lost someone um a child and 
they're organized in groups and they're looking   for ways to support communities so I think that 
there's a lot of things going on we just need to   pull some people together and understand um what 
what we want to see we're not going to be we're   not going to be the ones that are suppressing the 
violence um we would be the ones that are putting   in programming and supports to help hopefully um 
deviate from any of those things ever happening   in their lives so um everybody's got a role so we 
are going to organize that if you know anyone that   you feel like would be really important to that 
table I would ask you to please let me know um   and and we'll we'll get them there so we're in the 
middle of just trying to find a day where you can   get everybody to come in for like an hour or two 
um so we'll we'll let you know as soon as that is   is scheduled and our final Trim hearing of course 
we um it was supposed to be scheduled for 9:16   it's now going to be scheduled for 9:30 um not at 
night sorry September 30th let me say it that way   um National Night Out where some of our community 
uh our Communications and our Outreach um National   Night Out was really an awesome event we did um 
a parade of providers where we brought all of our   providers together um we were also invited to uh 
pride has put together this special program room   um Mr Williams um got to go because his names on 
the building and all that so they got to see The   Legend um right there it was really cool um but 
they've really built out this great space for   these kids to come in and just be kids and be 
themselves but to be able to provide services   to them it's it's really unique and I think that 
that program is something that could probably be   replicated in other ways um but it is really built 
that team back they started with 20 kids and now   there's like a hundred I think on that team and 
they're winning some games so even better um   they're on their way back and then um we're also 
Publications so we're working on now that we're   kind of through this as soon as we complete our 
mental health um uh contracts as of 9:30 and then   the other ones that end on 9:30 24 we're going 
to be wrapping in those year in results and be   creating our um annual report um that we will need 
to have published and and posted at least on our   website by um December 31st so any questions for 
me no me okay oh on the um the community violence   focus group will you let us know that date or let 
me know date yes I definitely will know well if I   can make it out try to come by yeah as soon as 
we get a solidified date I'll let you guys know   I think we're going to probably do it during the 
morning time because some of our our after school   providers we don't want to do it in the afternoon 
we want go ahead and meet we'll probably have just   coffee and donuts and just talk so okay all 
right thank you all right thank you Meredith   did you have anything to present on the Tiff or 
the Attorney General I know I saw something on paperwork um nothing specific to present 
as was stated earlier the county did not   Grant the exemption um we're continuing 
to research surround found ing that but   at this point in time there's a 45-day window 
for payment um as far as the Attorney General   um request for opinion that's been submitted 
so we would just be waiting for a response   at the stage and that was related 
to uh board member seats not to the CRA thank you you have any questions or comments 
from the board I've got one yes sir I just want   to say thank you for your work on this I think 
that the things that we approved grou tonight I   know that have been vetted I feel really good 
that they've been looked into and um it makes   it much easier to make decisions when you know 
that things are properly being vetted looked   at and and some things took some time to get to 
us because of of that V vetting uh process so I   appreciate the work you're doing and and your 
staff uh thank you for your work I I second   that because I ask a lot of questions all the 
time all times of the day and y'all are always   very like on it and don't mind my million 
questions about little things so if not   anything else no further business the 
meeting is adjourned at 6:24 thank you